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1). BROWN. AUTOMATIC CUTTER FOR BRICK AND TILE MACHINES.

No. 503,524. Patented Aug. 15, 1893.

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D. BROWN. 7 AUTOMATIC CUTTER FOR BRICK AND TILE MACHINE-S. No. 503,524.

Patented Aug. 15, 1893.

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by his, afionuzy (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet s, D. BROWN. AUTOMATIC CUTTER FOR BRICK AND TILE MACHINES. N0. 503,524.

R W5 w m m nfim I E,WAWUI w W m? 1/|\LU& g g 0 u A d 77 W e t a P UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAVIS BROWN, OF DECATUR, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO THE DECATUR LEADER MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

AUTOMATBC CUTTER FOR BRICK AND TILE MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 503,524, dated August 15, 1893.

Application filed March 13, 1893.

To aZl whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, DAVIS BROWN, of Decatur, in the county of Macon and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Cutters for Brick-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to mechanism for antomatically cutting moving bars of clay into brick, or other, lengths, and it is embodied in the details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter set forth and claimed.

The machine follows the general idea, common in France at an early date and later in this country, of rotating a reel carrying cutting wires by means of guides on a belt carrying and moving with the bar 'of clay; and the object is first to hold the cutting wires from contact with the out surfaces of the bricks, thereby preventing roughening of the ends by the second or withdrawal contact; second, to enable the reel to automatically rise to prevent breakage, when a cutting Wire encounters a rock or other practically inseparable substance; third, to provide simple and improved means for moving the cutting mechanism synchronously with the bar of clay, whatever the condition of the clay may be; fourth, to simplify and improve the construction of the reel; and fifth, to provide simple and improved means for tightening the cutting wires.

The first named object is attained in part by the peculiar construction of the clay carrying mechanism, and partly by certain peculiar features of the reel and the actuating mechanism therefor.

The second object is made possible by the structure of the reel frame and its pivotal connection with the support. The other objects are attained by the details of construc tion pointed out in the following specific description.

In the drawings forming part of this specification Figure 1 is a side elevation of the reel and so much of the carrying table and adjuncts as co-operate actively with the reel. Fig. 2 is a side View of the spider which is mounted on the reel shaft between the two sets of arms, and which holds the arms in approximately radial positions while permitting Serial No. 465,672. (No model.)

a limited amount of play in each. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the table and reel the end next the clay mixing and compressing machine being presented. Fig. A is a section of the reel on broken line 4 in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary elevation of the reel shaft and supports, showing, by comparison with Fig. 3, how the reel rises when a wire encounters a stone. Fig. 6 is a diagram representing generically, in side elevation, the clay carrying belt, the reel actuating belt, and the pulleys carrying the same, and indicating at X the partial separation of the bricks, at the point of withdrawal of the cutting wire, which enables the wire to be withdrawn from the pat-h of the bricks without coming in contact with the ends thereof. Fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating the withdrawal of a cutting wire from the path of the bricks. Fig. 8 is a representation of the improved wire-tightening device.

The frame of the table is composed of sills l and 1 supported by legs 2. Polygonal pulleys 3 and 3, seen one in Fig. 1 and both in Fig. 6, carry the reel-actuating belt 4: and have bearings in brackets attached to the sills. The belt 4 is composed of links corre spending in length to a side of a polygonal pulley, which is the same as the length of a subdivision of the bar of clay, ordinarily a brick length, and the links are hinged together and provided each with a vertical guide, as 5, located at one side of the link. The guides are separated one from another substantially as shown in Fig. 1 and the forward end of each is somewhat higherthan the rear end. The clay-carrying belt 6 runs on the reel-actuating belt, it extends beyond the same at both ends, and it is carried at the front, or delivery, end by pulley 7 and at the rear, or receiving, end by pulley 7 The upper surface of pulley 7 is substantially in line with the upper surface of pulley 3, but the upper surface of pulley 7 is somewhat lower than the upper surface of pulley 3, and the result is that the bricks, by following the incline so developed, separate at the vertexes of the polygonal pulley 3, as indicated at X in Fig. 6. Rollers 9 have hearings on the sills, as seen in Fig. 1, and they assist in carrying the two belts and the bar of clay. They are diminishediin diameter between ends in order to permit the passageof the hinges of the links. The rollers 10, seen only in Fig. 1,-

receive the brick from belt 6 and deliver them to the off-bearing belt 11. Shaft 12 is designed to be operated from the brick machine by means of a universal joint coupling, but for the purposes of the invention it is immaterial by What or in what manner it is driven. Pinion 13 on shaft 12 meshes with wheel 14, and through such pinion and pulley the shaft of the pulley of the off-bearing belt 11 is driven. Pulley 15 is fixed on the shaft of the pulley of the off-bearing belt, pulley 16 is fixed on the shaft 17 of pulley 3, and belt 16 runs loosely on the two pulleys. Arm 18 is pivotally connected with a leg of the frame, it carries at one end an idler or belt tightening pulley 19 adapted to run against belt 16, and at the other end it carries ashiftable weight 20. When the belt is unaffected by the tightener it will slip freely on one or both of the pulleys, and the friction may be increased and accurately regulated by the use of thetightener and the shiftable weight. The standard 21 is secured to a sill and it has thelateral extension 21. Bracket 23 pivots at 23 in the outer end" of the extension of the standard, and it provides bearings forthe reel shaft 24. The upper end of the standard is forked, as seen at 22, and bracket 23 rests normally in a horizontal position in the crotch of the fork. Disks 25 are fixed on shaft 24 and their distance apart determines the width of the reel. They are provided with rods 26 extending from one to the other in horizontal lines, and such rods form pivots for the reel arms 27 and 33. Cross bars 32 connect the arms at one side of the reel with the arms at the opposite side, and they also describe horizontal lines. Spider 28 is fixed on the reel shaft approximately midway between the disks, and the cross bars 32 extend loosely through spaces 29 between the ends of its legs, see Fig. 4. Reel arms 27 have cam projections 31, of ovoid conformation in cross section, extending inwardly from the inner surfaces of their ends. WVires 30 connect with arms 27, extend through slots in the ovoid proj ections at points concentric with the principal curve of the cam, rest in notches in the ends of arms 33 and are secured to levers 34 as seen in Fig. 8. Each lever is pivoted as at 35 on an arm 33, and provided with a pin as 37 with which the wire connects. A stop 36 arrests the swing of the lever after the pin to which the wire is attached passes a right line drawn through the bearing of the wire in the end of the arm and through the pivot of the lever.

In operation the bar of clay is forced onto belt 6, as indicated in Fig. 6, and tends to carry with it the belts 4 and 6. The spaces between the cutting wires of the reel approximate closely the length of a brick, and each wire, together with the arms that carry it, has a limited amount of free motion, so that when a projection 31 comes in contact with the upreached. The front end of each guide is somewhat elevated and when a projection reaches a space between guides it is forced into the I same. Here theplayof the arms in the spider is utilized, and the wires, which in their rotary motion would naturally move forward at varying speed, are forced vertically through the clay while moving synchronously with it. The ovoidal projections 31 are so arranged with relation to the arms and the spaces between guides that the bearing at the beginningof each cutting operation is substantially cylindrical, and this condition continues until the brick is cut off and carried to the inclined portion of the belt. When thepartial separation shown at X in Fig. 6 begins the elongated bearing surface of the ovoidal projection begins to bear against the forward surface of the guide, and this continues, as

indicated in Fig. 7, until the wire, which is at the center of the cylindrical portion of the projection, is withdrawn from the path of the brick. The effect of the operation of the ovoidal projections is to keep the wires from contact with the out ends of the brick, during the withdrawal motion, and in this they are assisted by the incline of the carrying belt. The speed of the motion of the bar of clay varies with the quantity and character of the clay supplied to the machine, and the force required to cut the bar into bricks varies with the character and condition of the clay. The operation of the cutting mechanism must respond automatically to such varitions, and this is effected as follows: The belt 16 travels at a speed sufficient to cause the clay-carrying and the reel-operating belts to accommodate the greatest possible output of the brick machine from which the bar of clay is expelled, and its tension is so regulated by means of the tightening pulley and the weight that when the speed of the bar lessens the belt will slip before stretching or breaking the clay. Then the proper adjustment is found for any particular clay, the weight is secured firmly in position on the tighteningarm. If a wire should encounter a stone, or other excessively hard substance, in the clay, the bracket 23 will swing on pivot 23 and permit the reel to rise sufficiently to prevent breakage. The levers 34 are swung to a position similar tothat indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 8, the wires are secured to pins 37 at the desired tension, and then when the levers are swung to the positions shown by solid lines in the same figure the wires will be put under strong tension and automatically held.

I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. An automatic clay cutter comprisinga reel carrying cutting wires adapted to pass through a moving bar of clay, guides for the reel arms adapted to move with the bar of clay and determine the position and direction of the cuts, and projections on the reel arms adapted to engage the guides, the bearing surfaces of the projections which act on the guides during the cutting operation being cylindrical and concentric with the cutting wires, and the surfaces which act during the withdrawal motion being extended and eccentric, whereby the wires are held from contact with the cut surfaces of the clay.

2. An automatic clay cutter comprising a reel carrying cutting wires adapted to pass through a moving bar of clay, a clay-carrying belt diverging downward from a point below the withdrawal swing of the cutting wires, guides for the reel arms adapted to move with the clay and determine the position and direction of the cuts, and projections on the reel arms adapted to hold the wires at uniform distance from the guides during the cutting operation, and to increase the distance during the withdrawal motion, whereby clearance is made for the passage of the wires and the wires are held from contact with the cut surfaces of the clay.

3. An automatic clay cutter comprising a reel carrying cutting wires adapted to pass through a moving bar of clay, a link-belt run on polygonal pulleys and having guides to determine the position and direction of the cuts, and a clay-carrying belt encompassing the link-belt and extending beyond the same at one or both ends, substantially as set forth.

4. In clay cutters, the combination of a standard having a forked upper end and a lateral extension, and a reel-carryin g bracket pivoted to the extension and resting normally in the fork, whereby the reel may rise to prevent breakage.

5. In clay cutters, the combination of a reel carrying cutting wires, a clay-carrying belt, a reel-actuating belt, a power-driven friction belt running loosely on a pulley on a shaft of the clay-carrying and reel-driving mechanism, an idler to take up the slack of the friction belt, and an adjustable weight to regulate the pressure of the idler on the belt, whereby the cutting reel may be made to antomatically coincide with the movement of the bar of clay, substantially as set forth.

6. In clay cutters, the combination of a reel carrying cutting wires, a reel-actuating belt, an off-bearing belt, a friction belt loosely connectin g the drive shaft of the off-bearing belt with the drive shaft of the reel-actuating belt, an idler to take up the slack of the friction belt, an adjustable weight to regulate the pressure of the idler on the belt, and means, substantially as described, for driving the shaft of the off-bearing belt, whereby the reelactuating belt is driven from the off-bearing shaft and is governed in its speed by the motion of the bar of clay.

7. In clay-cutting reels, the combination with a reel arm having awire receiving notch in its end, a lever pivoted on a side of the arm and having a pin to which the wire is attached, and a stop on the arm adapted to arrest the swing of the lever when the pin thereon passes a right line drawn through the notch in the end of the arm and the pivot of the lever, substantially as set forth.

8. In clay cutting reels, the combination of a shaft, disks fixed on the shaft, arms pivotally connected with the disks and provided with cutting wires, cross bars connecting the arms of one disk with the arms of the other disk, and a spider fixed on the shaft between the disks with its legs extended between the cross bars of the arms, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I sign my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

DAVIS BROWN.

Attest:

I. O. WALKER, L. P. GRAHAM. 

